Paper umbrella



M. l. TRUITT I PAPER UMBRELLA May 27, 1969 Sheet Filed March 11 1968INVENTOR MARTHA 1'. TRUITT MM W ATTORNEY y 27, 1969 M. 1. TRUITT3,446,221

I PAPER UMBRELLA Filed March 11, 1968 sheet 3 or s M. I. TRUITT May 27,1969 PAPER UMBRELLA Sheet Filed March 11, 1968 INVENTOR MARTHA I. TRUITT ATTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,446,221 Patented May 27, 19693,446,221 PAPER UMBRELLA Martha I. Truitt, 1622 Abingdon Drive,Alexandria, Va. 22314 Filed Mar. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 711,978 Int. Cl.A45b 13/00, 23/00 U.S. Cl. 135-195 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREtural elements.

Background of the invention This invention relates to umbrellas, andmore particularly, to disposable, relatively inexpensive umbrellas madeof paper and paper products.

Conventional umbrellas are formed of a mast made of steel or woodprovided with a metal sleeve slidable therealong and metal strutsextending from the sleeve to metal ribs which extend radially from theupper end of the mast. Umbrellas of this type are of suflicient strengthto withstand strong Winds and heavy rainfalls, but are relativelyexpensive to manufacture due to the cost of the durable metal parts.

There is, however, a need for a relatively inexpensive, disposableumbrella to serve in emergencies and to be discarded after use. Suchumbrellas could be given away, if sufiiciently inexpensive, asadvertising favors or the like.

To meet this need, a number of umbrellas formed of paper and cardboard,or the like, have been proposed in the prior art. While such prior artumbrellas have met the criteria of low cost, they have suffered from thedrawback that they are not sufliciently strong to withstand climaticconditions ordinarily associated with a rain storm. For example, suchprior art umbrellas do not have sufiicient strength and rigidity toresist strong winds or heavy downpours and are, thus, not satisfactoryunder the very conditions for which they are most needed.

Summary of the invention Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an improved disposable umbrella which isinexpensive to manufacture, and which, nevertheless, provides sufficientstrength and rigidity to withstand wind conditions ordinarily associatedwith rain storms. More specifically, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide an umbrella of this character formed of paper andcardboard.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an umbrella formed ofhollow structural elements which are polygonal in cross-section andwhich are formed of folded cardboard.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide an umbrellahaving ribs formed of folded hollow cardboard elements, struts formed ofsuch elements, and a mast formed of such elements.

Briefly, the invention contemplates the provision of an umbrella havinga mast, a sleeve slidable along the mast, a plurality of ribs secured tothe upper end of the mast and extending radially outwardly therefrom, acorresponding plurality of struts secured at one end to the sleeve andsecured at the opposite end to a corresponding rib, and an umbrellacover secured on the ribs. Each of the ribs is formed of a pair ofhollow triangular structural elements in a unitary structure of foldedcardboard with a V-shaped groove therebetween. Each of the struts isformed of a single hollow triangular structural element of foldedcardboard and includes, at one end, an end extension bent therefrom andfitted in the V-shaped groove provided by a corresponding rib and, atthe other end, a tab extension secured Within the slidable sleeve. Inaddition, the mast is formed of a plurality of hollow triangularelements of folded paperboard and a pair of fixed sleeves to securethese elements in a polygonal configuration forming the mast.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of theinvention and the manner in which the same are accomplished will becomemore readily apparent upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of the invention when taken in conjunction witht theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred and exemplaryembodiment.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of theumbrella in its open position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing the umbrella in its closedposition;

FIGURE 3 is a partial bottom view of the umbrella in its open position;

FIGURE 4 is a partial top plan view of the umbrella in its openposition;

FIGURE 5 is a partial portion of the rib structure;

FIGURE 6 is a partial elevation view, partly in section, showing themanner in which the ribs are secured to the mast;

FIGURE 7 is a partial elevation view, partly in section, showing themanner in which the struts are secured to the sleeve;

FIGURE 8 is a partial perspective view showing a detail at one end ofthe strut structure;

FIGURE 9 is a partial perspective view showing a detail at the other endof the strut structure;

FIGURE 10 is a partial perspective view showing how the struts engagewith the ribs; and

FIGURE 11 is an end view of a structural element of the mast.

perspective view showing a Description of the preferred embodiment FromFIGURE 1, it will be seen that an umbrella of the invention comprises amast 10, a plurality of ribs 12 secured to the upper end of mast 10 andextending radially outwardly therefrom, a plurality of struts 14corresponding to each of the ribs 12 and extending from an intermediatepoint on the ribs to a sleeve 16 which is slidable along shaft 10. Anumbrella cover 18 is secured upon ribs 12. In the extended, or open,position as shown in FIGURE 1, sleeve 16 is positioned toward the topend of the mast 10 causing struts 14 to extend outwardly and extend ribs12 in the manner which is well known with respect to conventionalumbrellas.

When the umbrella is in its closed position, as shown in FIGURE 2,sleeve 16 is moved toward the free, or handle, end of mast 10 causingstruts 14 to bring ribs 12 down to a position adjacent mast 10 in amanner familiar in the umbrella art. As will be seen from FIGURE 2, thecover 18 may be swirled in the closed position to provide a neatappearance.

An important structural feature of the invention is the manner in whichmast '10, ribs 12, and struts 14 are constructed. In each case, as willbe explained more fully hereinafter, hollow, or tubular, structuralmembers, which are triangular in cross-section and made of foldedcardboard, are employed. With reference to FIGURE 5, ribs 12 are formedof a pair of triangular structural elements 20 and 22 which project froma common base wall and provide a V-shaped groove 26 therebetween. Aswill be evident from FIGURE 5, the triangular structural elements 20 and22 are formed as a unitary structure from a single piece of foldedcardboard. Thus, a first fold 28 forms an inside base wall of triangularelement 22, and a second fold 30 forms one side Wall of element 22. Asecond side wall 32 is formed by a third fold, and a common base wall34, extending below fold 28, is formed by a fourth fold. A fifth fold 36forms one side wall of structural element 20, while a sixth fold 38forms a second side wall of element 20. Finally, a seventh fold 40 formsthe inside base wall of element 20.

Turning to FIGURE 6, it will be seen that the side walls of rib 12 areslit at 42 with the base wall 34 folded at 44 to provide an upper ribextension 48 which is retained by means of an end collar 50 about theupper end of mast 10.

Referring to the top view of FIGURE 4, it will be seen that-end collar50 forms a hexagon and that six rib extensions 48 are retainedtherewithin, each one having its base wall abutting against a wall ofcollar 50. The triangular spaces provided between rib extensions 48 andthe structure of mast (which will be described in more detailhereinafter) are filled by hollow triangular structural elements 52which may be formed of four folds of cardboard.

Turning now to mast 10, it will be observed from FIG- URE 4, that it iscomprised of three structural members 54. As shown in FIGURE 11, each ofthe structural members 54 is formed of a single folded piece ofcardboard to form a diamond-shaped member having a pair of backto-backtriangular elements. A first fold 56 forms a part of the common dividingwall. A second fold 58 forms a side wall of one of the triangularelements, while a third fold 60 forms a second side wall of thistriangular element. A fourth fold forms a first side wall 62 of thesecond triangular element, and a fifth fold serves as a second side wall64 of the second triangular element. Finally, a sixth fold forms asecond portion 66 of the common wall.

As seen in FIGURE 6, a hexagonal upper mast sleeve 68 is provided justbelow collar 50 surrounding elements 54 to retain them in assembledposition. Likewise, at the lower end of the shaft 10, as will be evidentfrom FIG- URES 1 and 2, a hexagonal handle sleeve 70 serves the samefunction, surrounding an assembly of three elements 54.

The structure of struts 14 will be apparent from FIG- URE 8. Each strutis formed as a single hollow element, triangular in cross-section, froma single piece of folded cardboard. A first fold 72 forms an inside basewall; a second fold 74 forms one side wall; a third fold 76 forms asecond side wall; and a fourth fold 78 forms an outside base wall. Asshown in FIGURE 9, the side walls of member 14 are slit at 80 to form astrut extension 82 at an end of strut 14 by providing a fold line 83 inbase wall 72. Referring to FIGURE 10, it will be seen that strutextension 82 fits into the V-shaped groove 26 provided betweentriangular elements and 22 of rib 12 and may be retained therein by glueor the like. The over-all cooperation between struts 14 and ribs 12 willbe appreciated from FIGURE 3. It will be seen that each of the struts 14extends to a corresponding rib 12 and that the strut extensions 82 aresecured within the V-shaped grooves provided in the ribs 12.

As shown in FIGURE 8, the opposite end of strut 14 is provided with atab extension 84 which, as will be evident from FIGURE 7, is securedwithin slidable sleeve 16. Sleeve 16 has an outer hexagonal collar 86and an inner hexagonal collar 88 which form a sandwich with strutextensions 84 which are glued therebetween.

The umbrella cover 18, which may be formed of heavy kraft paper, isglued to the common base folds 34 of ribs 12. In order to better securecover 18 to ribs 12, tabs (not shown) may be provided on cover 18adjacent to the ends of ribs 12 and folded over base wall 34 and underfolds 28 and 40 and secured thereto by means of glue. Likewise, as willbe evident from FIGURE 6, an upper section 90 of cover 18 may be gluedbetween the base walls of rib extensions 48 and end collar 50.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changescan be made without departing from the principles and spirit of theinvention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims. Forexample, while umbrella cover 18 has been described as being made ofpaper, it will be appreciated that other flexible materials such asvinyl resins, polyethylene, or the like, may be substituted. Likewise,materials other than cardboard may be employed for the hollow structuralelements. Accordingly, the foregoing embodiment is to be consideredillustrative rather than restrictive of the invention, and thosemodifications which come within the meaning and range of equivalency ofthe claim are to be included therein.

The invention claimed is:

1. An umbrella comprising a mast, a sleeve slidable along said mast, aplurality of ribs formed of a pair of triangular elements secured to theupper end of said mast and extending radially outwardly therefrom, saidelements sharing a common flat base and providing a V- shaped groovetherebetween, a corresponding plurality of struts secured at one end tosaid sleeve and secured at the opposite end to a corresponding rib, andan umbrella cover secured on said ribs, said mast formed of a pluralityof elements, at least one of said mast elements and said struts beingcomprised of a folded tubular element triangular in cross-section.

2. An umbrella as recited in claim 1 wherein said umbrella cover issecured to said base opposite the side providing the V-shaped groove.

3. An umbrella as recited in claim 2, wherein said mast comprises aplurality of triangular elements, and at least one collar surrounding atleast a portion of the length of said elements.

4. An umbrella as recited in claim 2, wherein the inner ends of saidribs comprise a cut through said triangular elements, said common basebeing bent at said cut, said ribs having upper triangular elements abovesaid cut, and said umbrella further comprising an end collar, said uppertriangular elements being secured between said end collar and said mast.

5. An umbrella as recited in claim 4, wherein additional triangularelements are secured within V-shaped grooves provided between said uppertriangular elements.

6. An umbrella as recited in claim 3, wherein each of said struts is afolded tubular element triangular in crosssection and wherein saidopposite end of said strut is cut to provide an upper triangular strutextension, said extension being secured in said V-shaped groove providedby the corresponding rib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,924,426 8/1933 Williams l35201,924,427 8/ 1933 Williams l35--20 3,086,689 4/ 1963 Wiedenmeier.

PETER M. CA'UN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.-R. 20

